“I was really pleased with our kids’ defensive effort tonight,” said Knights co-coach Christina Hart. “We’re a pretty good defensive team most nights. Our defense has improved tremendously throughout the tournament and I think that showed tonight. Our kids’ attention to detail and their focus through this tournament run has been outstanding. I think it was on display tonight.”
The Knights (27-1) advanced to play Thornville Sheridan in the D-II state championship game at 2 p.m. Saturday at UD Arena. The Generals beat Norton 68-60 in triple overtime — the longest state tournament game in girls basketball history — to advance to the state championship game for the first time in school history.
Sophomore Riley Smith had 19 points and freshman Maddie Moody added 14 for Alter, which never trailed in the game. The Knights led by 35 points in the fourth quarter, triggering the running clock.
Earlier in the day, Hart saw her team hitting shots at their pre-game shootaround and knew they’d be relaxed later in the evening at UD Arena, she said.
“They were loose, which is great for a state semifinal game and none of these kids have ever been this far,” Hart said. “I thought we were loose all day. That helped me relax a little bit, too.”
Smith hit a 3-pointer to start the game, which immediately gave her confidence, especially after a few subpar performances, she said. The Knights went 8-for-13 from the field in the first quarter to take a 22-9 lead.
“I’ve been off a couple games, so I needed the 3 to get me back into a rhythm,” Smith said. “Playing in this openness (at UD Arena), I felt like I was more comfortable with my shot. I feel like I almost shoot better in the openness.”
Credit: Name Test
Credit: Name Test
The Knights led 34-16 at the half, hitting five of their eight 3-pointers in the first half.
Hawks junior Ella Brandewie scored 10 points as Bishop Hartley finished its season 20-7. The Hawks struggled against the Knights pressure defense, which caused 29 turnovers in the game.
“We knew they were going to do a run-and-jump (defense),” said Bishop Hartley coach Donald Dennis. “It was important for us to keep the ball in the middle of the floor and try to spread out and get good spacing. We got going a little faster than we wanted to play. The pace was faster than our liking. We wanted to play at a little bit slower pace. To their credit, they were able to speed us up and get us playing out of character tonight.”
Alter is making its ninth state tournament appearance since 2002. The Knights previously won state championships in 2008, 2015, 2016 and 2017 and finished as runner-up in 2010 and 2014.
It’s going to take a big effort against Thornville Sheridan to win their fifth state championship in program history, said Knights co-coach Kendal Peck. The Generals (25-3) are led by senior post Faith Stinson, an Akron commit and the program’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder.
“They’re good,” Peck said. “They’ll be the best team we’ve played in the tournament. Their top-six kids are excellent. They’re well-coached, they guard you and they can all shoot 3s. … It should be a heck of a state final game.”
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